Chapter 5 - Daniel Came To The Hotel Without His Mother
At 8:15 the next morning, Daniel appeared in the hotel lobby.
I was drinking coffee with Arthur.
Daniel looked awful.
Same black shirt.
No jacket.
No sleep.
He stopped when he saw the envelope.
“What did he tell you?”
Not hello.
Not how is your face.
I put my coffee down.
“What do you think he told me?”
Daniel looked at Arthur.
Arthur remained silent.
Then Daniel sat across from me.
“Mom says you’re trying to make this look criminal.”
I laughed.
“Of course she does.”
“She says those companies provide legitimate services.”
“Some do.”
“She says Dad knew about the structure.”
“Arthur?”
Arthur finally spoke.
“Henry specifically prohibited undisclosed related-party transactions.”
Daniel’s face tightened.
“My father has been dead five years.”
“Yes.”
“You’re interpreting paperwork.”
“I drafted the paperwork.”
That shut Daniel up.
Arthur pushed part of the audit toward him.
Daniel read.
Page one.
Page two.
By page four, his hands were shaking.
“She owns MC Residential?”
“Yes.”
“I thought that belonged to an outside facilities group.”
“So did the trustees.”
Daniel looked at me.
“Emily…”
I stood.
“No.”
“What?”
“You don’t get to come here and say my name like we’re already on the same side.”
His face fell.
“I didn’t know.”
“You knew she hit me.”
He looked down.
“You saw it happen.”
“I was angry.”
“At me.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because every family dinner became you questioning her.”
I stared at him.
“I was right.”
He flinched.
“That doesn’t make what happened okay.”
“No. What makes it not okay is that your mother slapped your wife and you told your wife to leave.”
Daniel had no answer.
I pointed toward the audit.
May you like
“That paper may explain your mother.”
“It does not explain you.”
